Micro-inverters: Reliabilty and Manufacturer Recommendation

SageBrush

Hi All,

I'm planning to put up a ground mounted on wood frame 3 kW PV system this spring in my yard. Due to transient shading issues across the array during the day it seems prudent to to install micro-inverters with per module MPPT. Solar Edge strikes my fancy, but I'm a practical guy and what I really want is good performance and reliability. An electrician will be involved on the last day to check the wiring, hook up the complicated (for me) connections and bless the system before the switch is flipped, but I won't have a Tele # to call in case of problems and my competency is rudimentary.

So, who is the Honda/Toyota of micro inverters ?

Photowhit

I'm having Thanksgiving with my brother and he relayed to me that he has had 2 of 18 Enphase M215s fail (He thinks said M315, but I couldn't find a M315 and suggested M215)

Enphase supplied replacement inverters and was willing to also give him $120 toward their replacement.

They have been in service, in Cincinnati, for @5 years and failed in the last year. No word on what failed.

My Brother went with Enphase, I believe they are consider pretty good.  I posted this a month or so ago. They were installed November of 2011 in Cincinnati. Guess this is good and bad. They did warranty them, no questions asked (I think they came with a 10 year warrant) and they even chipped in for the installation, I don't know if he collected or if they wanted a qualified person (He is a EE, but in-related to solar). Enphase does 'map' their inverters so he knew which were not producing and their location. He's also 55 I'm not sure how much longer he would feel comfortable replacing them, if this is the start of a trend.

Original installer is out of biz and no one else would give him a quote to install 2 microinverters on his steep pitched 2 story home. He's done a lot of spelunking in the past so had climbing gear/harness and did it him self! NOT something I would want to do!

littleharbor2

Photowhit said:

Enphase supplied replacement inverters and was willing to also give him $120 toward their replacement.

 

  Looking at that roof I can see why it'd be difficult to find somebody qualified to replace those 2 micros for $120.00.

 Unless this is in June or thereabouts there doesn't look to be much in the way of shading issues. This is a good example of why central inverters still have a solid justifiable place in the solar world.

Photowhit

littleharbor2 said:
Looking at that roof I can see why it'd be difficult to find somebody qualified to replace those 2 micros for $120.00.

 Unless this is in June or thereabouts there doesn't look to be much in the way of shading issues. This is a good example of why central inverters still have a solid justifiable place in the solar world.

Yes, we discussed which would be better. He's fond of new technology, and wanted to try these. We discussed heat and electronics. He went on to get a masters in material engineering (from Stanford!) and a masters in AI from Michigan so he's plugged into new technology.

To me it was amazing that the west facing panels only showed a 10-15% lower yield when plugged into a calculator.

littleharbor2

Hopefully that "new technology" doesn't bite him and his degrees in the ass down the road.